Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (a.k.a. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days) is the 3rd film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film franchise. It is based on both the beginning of the third book and also the fourth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The movie was released on Friday, August 3rd, 2012. It starred Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Robert Capron, Peyton List, Karan Brar, Rachael Harris, and Steve Zahn. This movie is rated PG for some rude humor.
This film was also the final installment to feature the original cast, as they had all outgrown their roles, mainly Zachary Gordon as Greg. It was made by Dune Entertainment, Color Force, and distributed by 20th Century Fox or later known as 20th Century Studios in 2020.
Plot[]
The film opens with the Heffley family arriving at the town's public pool during its opening on Memorial Day. Greg, his father, and Manny go to the bathroom. Greg tries to avoid the undressed men having showers right in the open stalls. Frank walks off and tells Greg to look after Manny. Then, Greg turns and sees that Manny is missing. Greg walks around the shower room trying to find Manny, until he finds him and chases him to the toilets, where Manny 'washes his hands' in the urinal, thinking it's a sink. Greg leaves the shower room with Manny and goes to find his family at the pool. Greg starts playing video games on his PlayStation Portable, but Frank confiscates it and tells him to get into the pool and swim. Greg narrates how he and his father have nothing in common, as Frank prefers physical activities like sports and Greg prefers video games, only agreeing that they despise the newspaper comic strip, Li'l Cutie. Rodrick blasts his boombox to promote his band, Löded Diper and their latest music, annoying Frank. Lenwood Heath, a friend of Rodrick who is a reformed delinquent, stops by the Heffleys to tell Rodrick he cannot play the boombox that loudly. Lenwood explains about Spag Union to Frank Heffley and impressed with how much the school changed him, which gives Frank the idea to maybe send Greg there. Greg gets into the pool and Manny starts laughing, as he's urinating, and then splashes Greg in the face with water as he looks around and sees lots of other toddlers urinating in the pool.
Greg in the crowded pool.
Greg goes to school for his last day before summer break and purposely forgets his history book at home. However, everyone else brought their books and he is forced to share one with Fregley. When work time is over, everyone signs each other's yearbooks. Greg asks Holly to sign hers, and she does. He also asks her to write her phone number. The class bell rings, and everyone runs out of school. Holly is being rushed out by Patty Farrell, Holly's friend and Greg's rival, and didn't write the last two numbers. Greg runs into the hall to try to get to Holly to finish her number but gets crushed in a crowd. Greg makes it out of school and sees Holly. When Greg asks to finish the number, she tries to, but her sister Heather arrives in her car and demands Holly to get in. Holly gets in, and Rodrick flirts with Heather Hills, who runs over Rodrick's foot and drives away. Greg becomes disappointed when Holly signs Rowley's yearbook saying he's "cute" and signing Greg's yearbook calling him a "friend".
Holly signing Greg's yearbook.
On the first day of summer, Greg gets up early just in time before his dad goes off to work. After waiting for him to leave, Greg closes all the curtains, gets snacks and starts up a clock, and begins playing video games on his Xbox 360. Greg's dad arrives, and Greg jumps into the sprinklers and gets a football. He then tells his dad he was playing sports. As Greg's dad turns on the TV, he sees that Greg forgot to turn off his console, and he finds out he was playing video games all day. Rodrick, meanwhile, was napping on the couch all afternoon while Greg was playing games. Rodrick then is laughing at his father's stuttering as he is trying to figure out how to unplug the Xbox to take it away from Greg. Frank then decides to ban TV and video games for the whole summer for both boys then unplugs the TV before heading for the basement. Greg's mom, Susan intervenes and lectures Frank about taking away the things the kids love then disappearing into the basement. She tells Frank he needs to spend more time with Greg and get on his level to connect with him. Frank felt it cannot work as neither of them would enjoy it and have nothing in common. To persuade Frank further, she reminds him how bad he felt when his own father did not spend time with him enough when he was young, and he is repeating his father's mistake. Greg's dad tries to bond with Greg by going fishing, but Greg puts an end to the fishing by throwing bait in as water after being grossed out by it being live earthworms. Next, they go to a civil war reenactment where Greg blows a trumpet at the wrong time and then runs away as people with guns that shoot blanks are chasing him, embarrassing Frank in front of the other members of the reenactment.
Susan organizes the Reading Is Fun! Club for Greg, Rowley, and Chirag as founding members, much to their disliking. Later on, Rowley invites Greg to go to the Plainview Heights Country Club as his guest, which Greg agrees to get out of doing the book club. Greg finds out that the country club is not as crowded as the public pool and begins to like it, enjoying smoothies being brought to him, driving a golf cart, and other activities. While there, Greg finds out that Holly Hills gives tennis lessons and sets up a game with her the next day. Later that night, Frank comes home and announces to Greg that he signed up Greg for an internship at his office, but Greg is uninterested in an unpaid job and wants to continue going to the country club to spend time with Holly. So, he lies by stating that he already got a job at the country club, which makes Greg's dad really happy and proud.
The next day, Greg and Rowley meet up with Holly for the tennis match. Greg sees that Patty is there too as Holly's doubles partner, whom berates Greg for being at the club. Greg and Rowley gets hit by Patty purposely many times with tennis balls, making it obvious they know nothing about tennis and that they have only played Ultimate Tennis on the Wii. Holly laughs and is flattered that he tried to impress her. She offers to help them with becoming better and Holly teaches Greg personally, much to Greg's pleasure.
The Heffleys go to a Fourth of July party at the Warrens' house, where Rodrick tells Greg about his suspicions about him having a job. Meanwhile, Frank speaks to Stan Warren, who tells him about how he's always shaping his boys to be active, doing activities such as Wilderness Explorers. Rodrick keeps intimidating Greg about the latter's suspicions of lying, which causes him to admit to Rodrick that he doesn't have a job at the country club to hang out with Holly. Rodrick sees this as an opportunity to see Heather Hills and blackmails Greg into sneaking him into the country club. Frank looks over and sees Susan and some neighbors playing with a dog, which Stan takes notice of. He tells Frank it's never too late to take responsibility and that he should get a dog for his family.
The Heffley's new dog, Sweetie
Later on, Frank Heffley does what Stan suggested and gets a dog for the family. Susan was reluctant as Frank did not consult her first. Manny names the dog Sweetie and Susan and Frank agree on it, though did not actually like the name but only agreed with Susan so that he doesn't have to return the dog. Greg explains how he always wanted a dog but has second thoughts as he has to pick up dog poop, deal with Sweetie sleeping on his bed, constantly jumps on him and steals his food, and Sweetie watching him on the toilet.
Greg sneaks Rodrick into the country club the next day, and Rodrick begins to order tons of food on Jefferson's bill. Rodrick comes up with a plan to get Heather's attention by pretending to drown, but while he's pretending, Heather is on her phone and is later seen arguing with a little girl and doesn't even notice Rodrick. A bald guy sees Rodrick's "drowning" and jumps in to rescue him and, even after he is showing signs of life, gives him mouth-to-mouth as Rodrick cries in disgust. After Rodrick's horrible event, Rowley invites Greg to come to his family beach house with him and his family near Boardwalk. Rodrick tells them that they should head down to the boardwalk's amusement park and ride the Cranium Shaker while they're there. The next day, Frank enrolls Greg into the Wilderness Explorers, making Greg believe he will be sent to Spag Union.
The Cranium Shaker.
Greg is about to leave with Rowley and his family, and his parents give him a phone before he goes. The phone is a ladybug phone, which only contacts the home and the police. Greg feels quite uncomfortable with how unusually close the Jeffersons are as they sing "5,000 Bottles of Milk" during the drive and when they arrive at the house, they play "I Love You Because.." before heading to the boardwalk. At the boardwalk, Greg's discomfort turns to disgust as Mr. Jefferson buys ice cream for everyone but on one cone to share the lick. Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson allow Greg and Rowley to go about the park but instruct them to meet back at a designated time and not to go on any scary rides. The boys wait for the Cranium Shaker's line to decrease and go on other rides and games. The Cranium Shaker eventually opens, and Greg and Rowley overhear a story of a guy who got decapitated after he went on the ride, making Greg and Rowley scared. They survive, and Rowley's parents say they've been looking for them as they haven't come back at the designated time and are disappointed with Rowley, which makes him feel bad despite Greg saying he got off easy compared to his own parents. In the middle of the night, Greg could not sleep because of Rowley's snoring and has enough of the Jeffersons. He gets on Mr. Jefferson's computer and sends an email to his mother, but accidentally sends it to everyone on his contact list in a rush to avoid being seen by Mr. Jefferson for using his computer. The next morning, Mr. Jefferson realizes that he got 949 unread emails, and Greg accidentally calls 911 while trying to call home. When he comes back downstairs, Rowley and his parents are disappointed with Greg about the computer email incident and are concerned if he has anything he'd like to tell them (the truth). The discussion gets interrupted as the police come knocking. Mr. Jefferson gets tackled to the floor and handcuffed for having a knife in his hand, mistaking him for having a weapon to harm when he was using it to cut bread. Greg is then sent home early, and Frank thinks that Rowley is a bad influence because of Greg always getting in trouble with him lately.
Greg calls Rowley to ask if he's going to the country club, and Rowley says he isn't. Greg tells Rodrick, who is ready to go, and Rodrick reminds him he has to go to "work" or dad will think something is up. He sneaks himself in by impersonating a member whose name he saw on the desk, Roland Gropper (a golf champion), while Rodrick waits in the dumpster for him. Greg finds out that Rowley did come to the club and lied to him, confessing that his parents say he can't invite Greg to come to the club with him anymore and did not want to hurt Greg's feelings by telling him that. Rowley runs away, feeling bad for lying to Greg and tries to avoid him. With Greg trying to impress Holly and despite being terrified, Greg tries to jump on a high diving board, thinking Holly likes a daredevil. However, while a little girl, Taylor Pringle, was antagonizes him for being scared, he tells her off for being unable to understand as she is just a little kid. Greg loses his balance when ready to jump and falls into the pool losing his swim shorts. Taylor proceeds to laugh then throws his bathing suit across the pool spitefully because of Greg's comment. This leaves Greg to stay in the pool naked to avoid humiliation, almost being seen by Holly and Patty. Greg sat in the pool all day and tried to get Rowley's help who still avoids him as he still feels guilty. Eventually he asks an employee to pass him a girl's swim shorts so he does not come out naked, causing everyone to laugh at him for it. He reclaims his trunks and changes it out and leaves through the back, realizing he forgot about Rodrick hiding in the dumpster. He thought Rodrick got picked up by the truck and crushed but was relieved that he was fine, but furious.
The next day, Greg confronts Rowley about lying while he is talking to Holly. Rowley did not even tell Greg he was coming as they did not even talk today, then questions how Greg is coming back in here without him, making Holly find out Greg is not a member of the club. Greg confesses he lied and snuck in because he wanted to spend time with Holly, and he did not get her full phone number when she signed his yearbook. Holly slightly scolds Greg that it is wrong to sneak in and it did not matter to her that he is not a member. Heather interrupts the conversation and says that her DJ for her Sweet 16 party canceled and has no music. Greg encourages Heather to invite Loded Diper, claiming they just got back from a world tour. Heather accepts, through her friend Madison's suggestion, as she will be the first in her school to have live music. Greg sneaks Rodrick in and tells him the news, which thrills him, and Greg and Rowley make up and get to be roadies for the band.
Frank decides to take Greg to "work" the next day, his dad continuing to look at him with pride since having the job. Greg gets dropped off and his dad gives him a thumbs up as he heads in. Inside he sees an infuriated Mr. Jefferson is with a large bill and complaining to the receptionist about it. The receptionist then points out Greg as Mr. Jefferson's son who has been ordering them. Mr. Jefferson and the receptionist looks at Greg and notices as he is passing people by around the lobby calling him Rowley and other member's names. Greg finally gets caught when his dad comes in to drop off some sunscreen. Mr. Jefferson tells Frank about the charges Greg racked up on his account and finds out Greg doesn't have a job after all as the receptionist informs him, they do not employ minors. Frank looks at the bill and is upset that Greg ordered $260 worth of smoothies. Greg confessed that he did not know the club charged for what they order, Frank volunteers to pay the bill. Greg is being driven home in silence, he is waiting for his dad to yell at him. Greg's dad says he's just disappointed, making Greg start to realize how Rowley felt earlier at Boardwalk and feeling remorseful. Later, Greg is lying in bed ashamed, Rodrick shows him a Spag Union DVD package in the mail. They watch it and this horrifies Greg seeing how strict of a military school they are. Rodrick tells Greg that his last chance is to go on the Wilderness Weekend to prove to Frank that he doesn't need to go to Spag Union.
Greg goes on a Wilderness Weekend with Rowley, Fregley, and Chirag. Frank is still upset with Greg, and they silently ride the bus to the campsite without talking to each other. They are driven away from the campsite by Stan Warren and his troop who beat them in setting up camp faster than them. Greg's troop is sets up camp over by the latrines, and they tell ghost stories around the campfire. Fregley tells a story about the Muddy Hand, Greg, being terrified by the story when he gets back to his tent, accidentally bangs Frank's hand with a mallet, as his hand camp in first before Frank reveals himself angry. Greg continues to feel worse and tells Frank that he cannot seem to stop making his father mad at him. Frank tells him that everyone messes up sometimes, but he is not afraid to admit when he does himself. Both Frank and Greg haven't fallen asleep and are facing opposite directions and reflecting in their thoughts. The next day, Greg, Rowley, Fregley, and Chirag overhear the Warrens making fun of Frank and his troop. The boys feel bad when they hear this and Greg gets angry when he hears his father being insulted, so he decides to make Stan Warren pay.
Greg devises a plan to get revenge with the help of the others, the plan is that they will wait for Stan Warren and his troop to be away from their tents, Greg and Chirag will tangle a web of rope covered with honey. Rowley and Fregley will look for some ants and put them in the Warrens' sleeping bags, when they sleep the ants would climb on them, they would run towards the trap, and they would be stuck like flies. While setting up the trap, Chirag gets ensnared by his own trap, Greg helps him off. Rowley and Fregley bring the ants to Greg. Greg goes into the Warrens' tent to plant the ants and discovers that the Warrens' have a whole bunch of technology with them and aren't camping, including a TV, ready-made meals, mini fridge, and smores maker. As Stan is coming back, the rest try to warn Greg, but he gets distracted. Greg quickly hides under Stan's cot as Stan suspects raccoons are hiding in his tent. Greg forgot he had the ants, and they crawl all over him. Greg escapes the tent and Stan gets entangled in his own tent causing him to throw it into the fire.
Stan confronts Frank about his boys being responsible for it. Greg takes the blame acts alone, however, his friends come to his defense and tells Frank that Greg did it to defend his father, and that Mr. Warren disrespected him. Mr. Warren continues to insult Greg as a disgrace to Wilderness Explorers, to which Frank shuts him up for. Frank then finds all of the equipment and technology they were using and calls Stan a phony, realizing that Greg and his friends were telling the truth. Mr. Warren panics and says that he will report Greg and Frank to the Wilderness Committee, but he gets tangled in the trap and falls off a cliff hitting himself several times and falls headlong into a honeycomb which causes them to chase him and then chased by a bear. According to what Greg's narration, Mr. Warren was abandoned by his troop and currently hosts a badminton team for kindergartners. Frank takes Greg to a motel where he admits he hates camping. Frank tells Greg that he's proud of him and won't send him to Spag Union as he believes even when Greg makes mistakes, Greg will learn from them. While Greg and Frank are watching TV and eating pizza, they are dismayed when they find out the Lil' Cutie comic strip they hated was not canceled and is going to be continued by Tyler Post, the original author's son.
As summer is close to its end, several days later, Heather's Sweet 16 birthday party commences. Everything at the party is very fancy, complete with a chocolate fountain, an ice sculpture of Heather, as well as men in tuxedos and women in dresses. Loded Diper arrives at the party along with Greg and Rowley as roadies. Rowley takes in interest in the chocolate fountain but was stopped by Heather and berates that they are employees and do not get to enjoy the snacks. Holly comes to their defense as they are her friends, Heather mouths her off as selfish for making Heather's party about herself instead. Before the band hits the stage, Rodrick tells them that he needs to make a love connection with Heather and asks Ben to play drums while he sings lead vocals. Heather is already infuriated that the band members weren't wearing tuxedos as planned, but she moves on after being told by her family to calm down.
Löded Diper performs a rock version of the Justin Bieber/Ludacris hit single "Baby" as an attempt to impress Heather. The band then goes hardcore, bringing the crowd to a shock, and Heather reacts in dismay. When Rodrick attempts to hold her hand, Heather resists in disgust. Rodrick sings the chorus again wildly, accidentally knocking down the ice sculpture. Heather finally loses her temper and grabs a microphone stand to assault Rodrick, but he dodges, and she instead hits the chocolate fountain, splashing chocolate on her, Madison, and the other guests, ruining the party.
Heather Hills and Madison covered in chocolate.
Greg apologizes to Holly, but Holly assured him that Heather wants people to remember her Sweet Sixteen, and they really will now. Holly holds Greg's hand, and they happily smile at each other, implying their relationship.
Greg, Rowley and Holly in the pool.
Greg narrates that summer was not how he planned it to be, but everything turned out fine for him. Greg, Rowley and Holly swim at the municipal pool together with Greg's family. Greg says that things between him and Frank will be okay. Greg, Rowley, and Holly then join the family for hot dogs saying it was the best summer ever. The film then ends with an animated scene showcasing Greg and Frank chasing Sweetie. This marks the end of the film.
Deleted Movie Scenes[]
- You're Going to Have an Accident: During breakfast, Frank says the Heffley men should start spending more time together since it's summer. Meanwhile, Greg and Rodrick fight over a sausage until Susan made them stop and listen to what Frank said. Out of anger for throwing Thingy away, Manny interrupts Frank that he was gonna have an accident before leaving. Susan expresses starting a book club, but Rodrick and Frank made up excuses to get out of it however before Greg could say anything, Frank threw him in on Susan's idea.
- Dad Gets Drafted: After arriving at the troop, Frank is blackmailed by Barrett to help with the troop.
- There's an alternate ending where Frank tells everyone about the new Lil' Cutie comic strip and how it's worse than the original before Greg throws the comic in the trash. This scene was most likely deleted in favor of the Sweetie scene. The alternative ending is available on the DVD and Blu-Ray release of the film as an extra.
- The Anthill: No screenshots or clips of this scene have been found (possibly it is not in Fox's archives anymore) but it has been mentioned in The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary. Greg and his friends come across an anthill in the forest.
- There was one scene where Fregley sneaks up on Greg in the pool.[1]
Almost all of these are available on the DVD.
Cast[]
- Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, the protagonist
- Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, who is the father of Greg, Rodrick, and Manny
- Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Greg's best friend
- Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley, the mother of Greg, Rodrick, and Manny
- Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Greg's older brother
- Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's younger spoiled brother
- Oliver as Sweetie, the Heffleys' dog
- Peyton R. List as Holly Hills, Greg's love interest
- Melissa Roxburgh as Heather Hills, Holly's arrogant elder sister, and Rodrick's love interest
- Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, Greg's arch nemesis
- Grayson Russell as Fregley, a weird kid
- Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta, one of Greg's friends
- Jeff Kinney (the author) as Mr. Hills, the father of Heather and Holly
- Emily Holmes as Mrs. Hills, the mother of Holly and Heather
- Philip Maurice Hayes as Stan Warren, Greg's father's boss
- Anne Openshaw as Mrs. Warren, Stan Warren's wife
- Terence Kelly as Grandpa Heffley, Greg's grandpa
- Bronwen Smith as Linda Jefferson, Rowley's mother
- Alf Humphreys as Robert Jefferson, Rowley's father
- Bryce Hodgson as Ben Segal, one of Rodrick's bandmates
- Christopher De-Schuster as Chris, one of Rodrick's bandmates
- Dalila Bela as Taylor Pringle, a girl who picks on Greg
- Elise Gatien as Madison, Heather Hills' friend
- Frank C. Turner as Mr. Barrett, the troop master of Troop 133
- Andrew McNee as Coach Malone, Greg's Phys Ed coach
- Amitai Marmorstein as a Cranium Shaker operator
- Roan Curtis and Sydney Wong as girls who were in line to ride the Cranium Shaker
- Nicole Fraissinet as Julie, a receptionist at the Plainview Heights country club
- Latonya Williams as Amy, a receptionist at the Plainview Heights country club
- Cameron Mitchell Jr. as the manager of the Plainview Heights country club
- Doug Abrahams as the man who supposedly rescued Rodrick
- Kyle Cassie as a Plainview Heights country club waiter
- Amy Esterle as a Plainview Heights country club waitress
- Gerry Durand as a Plainview Heights country club valet
- Wanda Ayala is a woman who was impressed with a high diver
- Joshua Ballard and Matt Mazur as developed students of Spag Union
- David Palacio as a boy at Spag Union
- Paul Fisher as the announcer in the Spag Union video
- Jared Abrahamson as Tim Warren, the eldest of the Warren kids
- Matteo Stefan as Biff Warren, the middle Warren kid
- Collin MacKechnie as Chip Warren, the youngest of the Warren kids
- Sofia Bowers voicing Li'l Cutie
- Dawn Chubai as the Female News Anchor for WYXP6 News
- Keith MacKechnie as Brad, a man who Greg and Rowley called
- Simon Chin as the owner of a Chinese restaurant who Greg and Rowley called
- B.J. Harrison as a dry cleaner of a dry-cleaning place who Greg and Rowley called
- Hero as the Warrens' dog
- James O'Sullivan as the Sunblock Guy
- Cameron K. Smith as a Union rifleman at the Battle of Philippi reenactment
- Ian Thompson as the bus driver of the bus of the Wilderness Explorers Troop 133
Critical reception[]
The film has received mixed reviews. It holds a 51% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating, "Dog Days is overly familiar and relies a bit too much on slapstick, failing to improve upon previous installments and appealing mostly to its target audience." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 54/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Abby West of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ and wrote, "Though often self-centered and conniving, Greg remains a likable kid, and the movie entertains by pulling off over-the-top scenarios that set up digestible life lessons for youngsters."
Release Dates[]
| Country | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | August 3, 2012 | ||
| Ireland |
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| Italy |
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| United Kingdom | August 3, 2012 | ||
| U.S.A | August 3, 2012 | ||
| Philipines | August 15, 2012 | ||
| Singapore | August 30, 2012 | ||
| Turkey | August 31, 2012 | ||
| Australia | September 20, 2012 | ||
| Germany | September 20, 2012 | ||
| New Zealand | September 27, 2012 | ||
| Spain | September 28, 2012 | ||
| Poland | October 19, 2012 | ||
| France | October 24, 2012 | ||
| Brazil | November 2, 2012 | ||
| Hungary | December 12, 2012 | (premiered with DVD) | |
| Taiwan | December 14, 2012 | (premiered with DVD) | |
|
Sweden |
March 20, 2013 | (premiered with DVD) |
Production[]
In an interview, Devon Bostick (Rodrick Heffley) said that The Last Straw could be in the works and is "90% sure it will happen" depending on the success of Rodrick Rules.[4]
Zachary Gordon portrayed Greg Heffley in the film adaptation of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." For the inconsequential scene where Greg unintentionally skinny dips into the country club pool, he wore a tight-fitting "skin-colored bathing suit," likely made of moleskin, to ensure his modesty. In this scene, his character's bathing suit gets caught on the corner edges of the high dive and slips off (off-camera) while jumping into the water.
After the take that was used in the final cut of the film, Zachary Gordon confessed in an interview with WJTV that wearing the skin-colored bathing suit felt embarrassing, despite him remaining gracious and signing autographs for nearby fans and onlookers, as mentioned in "The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary." http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=407388845983882&set=pb.320242754698492.-2207520000.1355004548&type=3&theater
Book Parallels[]
A list of scenes in the film that are exact adaptations or slightly altered adaptations from the books.
- The Heffley family going to the town pool is adapted from Dog Days.
- Lenwood Heath telling Frank about his enrollment at Spag Union is adapted from The Last Straw. In the film, Frank and Lenwood talk at the pool, while in the book, they talk in a movie theater.
- Greg swimming in the kiddie pool while kids are peeing in it is adapted from Dog Days.
- Greg attempting to impress Holly Hills is adapted from The Last Straw.
- Greg sitting inside playing video games all day is adapted from Dog Days.
- Susan starting the "Reading Is Fun" club is adapted from Dog Days.
- Rowley inviting Greg to the country club is adapted from Dog Days.
- Frank bringing home Sweetie is adapted from Dog Days. In the film, Frank gets the dog to make the family happy, while in the book, it's the result of coping with his discovery of the death of his old dog.
- Greg and Frank sharing their hatred for Lil' Cutie are adapted from Dog Days.
- Greg receiving a Ladybug cellphone is adapted from Dog Days. In the film, he's given the phone before he leaves for the beach with the Jeffersons, while in the book, it's a birthday gift.
- Greg joining the Jeffersons on their trip to the beach is adapted from Dog Days.
- Greg and Rowley riding the Cranium Shaker are adapted from Dog Days. In the book, Rowley decides to not ride it.
- Rowley being scolded by his parents is adapted from Dog Days.
- Greg attempting to send an email to his mom is adapted from Dog Days. In the film, he accidentally sends it to Mr. Jefferson's work colleagues, while in the book, his mom responds to the email.
- Greg accidentally calling 911 on adapts a similar scene from Dog Days. In the film, he attempts to call his parents, while in the book, he intentionally calls 911 on Frank.
- Rowley telling Greg isn't allowed at the country club anymore is adapted from Dog Days.
- Frank paying back Mr. Jefferson for the smoothies adapts a similar scene from Dog Days. In the film, Greg doesn't work to pay off the debt and instead Frank pays it, while in the book, Mr. Jefferson consults with Susan and has Greg and Rowley find a way to pay it off.
- Greg going on the Wilderness camping trip adapts similar scenes from The Last Straw.
- Greg smashing Frank's hand with a mallet thinking it was the Muddy Hand is adapted from Dog Days. In the book, it was Greg's hand being smashed by Rowley.
- The Wilderness Troop choosing to stay at a motel adapts a similar scene from The Last Straw.
- Frank telling Greg he won't send him to Spag Union is adapted from The Last Straw.
Movie Only Differences[]
- Coach Malone is a minor character in the film. When Malone is talking on the phone while Greg and Rowley are trying to get the right phone number of Holly Hills and accidentally calls him, he doesn't know Greg when he answers the phone, probably because he didn't recognize him.
- In the film, Spag Union is a prep school, while in The Last Straw, it is a military academy. Also, Spag Union is mentioned in the book while Spag Union is seen in the film.
- Chirag Gupta appears in the movie, but he is not featured in the Dog Days book.
- In the book, the Hills family isn't shown to be members of the Country Club.
- The Reading Is Fun Club had various people in the book, but it had only 3 in the movie. Also, Chirag appears in the film as a member, whereas in the book, he isn't a member.
- In the book, Greg sends an email using Mr. Jefferson's account only to Susan. In the film, Greg sends the email to all of his friends and co-workers, which is probably the reason Mr. Jefferson had 949 emails.
- The Warrens are only briefly mentioned and briefly appeared in The Last Straw, but in the movie, the Warrens are antagonists.
- Heather has more personality in the movie and has a bigger role.
- Greg and Holly are implied to be a real couple at the end of the movie, but Holly is barely mentioned after The Last Straw. When the Hills are mentioned in the books, Heather is the one Greg's attracted to.
- Greg never goes to the Country Club after being banned by Mr. Jefferson, but in the movie, he isn't directly banned and later sneaks in afterward.
- In the book Dog Days, Frank Heffley is nearly arrested, but in this movie, Robert Jefferson is the one who almost gets arrested.
- In the book, the Muddy Hand is in Hello, You're Dead, which is a scary movie, but here it was in a campfire story told by Fregley.
- Greg doesn't have a crush on Heather in the movie, but he continues his crush on Holly.
- However, in the animated credits, Greg is trying to show and flex his muscles in front of Heather and her friend.
- Lenwood Heath was a lifeguard at the community pool in the movie, but in The Last Straw he had a job as a movie theater usher.
- In the book, Frank gives Sweetie to Gramma in the end, but in the movie, Sweetie is still living with the Heffleys.
- Patty Farrell is included, while in the book, she was not heard of since The Last Straw.
- Rowley bought a shirt that says "I Survived the Cranium Shaker" in the book, but he didn't in the film. The ride also looks different in the film than in the book, while in the book, it's a one-seater with many coasters, while in the film, it's only a two-seater with one coaster.
- In the book, Susan came up with the name Sweetie for the dog. However, in the film Manny suggested the name and didn't suggest animal names. Rodrick didn't suggest Turtle (only so they could call him Turd) or any names for the dog.
- In the book, Joe Heffley told Frank he should get a dog. In the film, Stan Warren told Frank he should get a dog.
- In the film, Manny found his blanket Tingy in the trash can that Frank accidentally throws away it and retrieves it. But in the book, it is thrown away and never found again, causing Manny to take on his anger on everyone.
- Sweetie is a major character in the book but only appears in a few scenes in the film.
- In the book, Greg was kicked out of the country club early on in the story, forcing him to go to the community pool, but in the film, Greg is kicked out of the country club at the near end of the movie.
- In the book after the events of The Last Straw, Greg gives up on Holly Hills and moves on to other girls. In the film, Greg still has feelings for Holly and hasn't moved on to other girls.
- The smoothie's bill was $83.00 in the book, but $260.00 in the film, this is likely based on 2012's inflation value. Also, in the book, Susan confiscates Greg's birthday money to pay off the bill, while Frank is forced to pay himself in the movie. Also, in the book, Greg doesn't have a job at the country club.
- In the book, it's Greg's mom who wants him to spend summer outside more, but in the film, it's his dad.
- In the book, Greg owns a Nintendo 64, but in the movie, he owns an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation Portable.
- Heather Hills' Sweet 16 doesn't appear in the book.
- The Wilderness Explorers is called the Boy Scouts in the books.
- The Battle of Philippi Civil War reenactment scene doesn't appear in the book.
- Greg and his father going on the boat takes place before the events in the book, but it took place inside the events in the film.
- The V.I.P Lawn Service doesn't appear in the film, and Greg and Rowley stay friends in the film, whereas in the book, their friendship split up for at least almost six months.
- Chirag, Fregley, and Frank aren't members of Troop 133 in the book, while in the movie, they are members.
- In the deleted ending, the credits are purple, but in the finished / theatrical version of the film they are green.
Trivia[]
- The movie has the basic plot of The Last Straw, but the setting was changed to the summer.
- While the movie received mixed reviews from critics, many fans consider this and Rodrick Rules to be much better than the first film, thus making it receive more positive reviews.
- This is the third film in the film series.
- Author Jeff Kinney reprised his cameo appearance once again in this film as Holly and Heather Hills's father.
- Each film centered on Greg's conflicting relationship with someone close to him. This one centers on his conflict and resolution with his father, Frank. (Though same thing can be said about his conflicting relationship with Holly.)
- Rodrick is nicer to Greg in the whole movie, unlike in the movies Rodrick Rules and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
- The only time Rodrick tease Greg is when he laughs at Greg's yearbook photo and being friend-zoned by Holly
- He also antagonizes Greg by being skeptical of Greg having a job at the country club, then blackmails him to sneak him in.
- Despite Greg finally being busted for sneaking into the country club after Rowley could no longer invite him as guest. Rodrick never gets caught being snuck in. This is likely, however, due to Rodrick not trying to come to the club on the day Greg was found out.
- This is the last film with the original cast, as they had all outgrown their roles when production wrapped up.
- If a plane flew ahead during filming, Steve Zahn would refuse to say his lines.
- This movie is The Last Straw and Dog Days combined into one story.
- This movie was released the same year as The Third Wheel, in 2012, but Dog Days (2012 film) was released before the 7th book came out.
- This is the only Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie that didn't come out in Japan. However, the Japanese dub is accessible on Disney+.
- There is also a movie diary, too, which is an expansion to the original movie diary, like Rodrick Rules.
- Mr. Draybick's map of Europe at the front of his classroom is pre-WW1.
- There was a short animated bonus film that came with this movie named Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown.
- This film made the most money out of the four Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.
- Previously, this was the only film to not be streaming on Disney+. It is instead streamed only on HBO Max, due to HBO having the cable rights to the film.
- On March 4th, 2022, the film was available to be streamed on Disney+ due to Disney purchasing 20th Century Fox.
- Mr. Underwood appears in the animated opening credits, despite being replaced by Coach Malone in this movie and its prequels.
- In Australia, this is the last film to have its chronological number in the title. (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days)
- For the Löded Diper performance of "Baby", Rodrick makes a small alteration for the final line in the second verse, "I just can't believe my first love won't be around" by replacing "my first love" to "Heather Hills".
- When Greg and Rowley ride the Cranium Shaker, You can see Rowley's middle finger sticking up for a few seconds. This is actually Rowley’s stunt double who did the obscene gesture.
- This is Alf Humphreys's (Rowley's father, Mr. Jefferson) last role following his death in 2018. This is also the only film in the series where he had a speaking role while his previous appearances were non-speaking roles and only scowling at Greg.
Goofs/Errors[]
- Despite the title of the film being Dog Days, the main plot mainly mostly follows and focuses on the events of The Last Straw. The chosen title could have been as Dog Days was the fourth book and they wanted to include plot points of both books in the film and knowing this was going to be the last with the original cast.
- At Heather Hills' Sweet 16 party, during LD's performance, Heather Hills swings at Rodrick with his mic stand, missing him, but in turn, knocks her chocolate fountain over & away from her. In the next shot, she's seen standing next to Madison on the opposite side of the fountain, without the mic stand, & the chocolate fountain has been splattered onto her somehow.
- When Frank Heffley tells Greg to keep an eye on Manny, the captions (on DVD only) say "Watch Manny." However, on Disney + if you turn on the Describing English captions it DOES say "Keep an eye on Manny.".
- When Greg is walking with Rowley at the beginning, his legs disappear as they are walking.
- When Susan is telling Frank about Manny's lost Tingy, Frank replies with "I'm sure it'll turn up" while facing forward and talking to Susan. In the next shot, Susan is behind him finding the Tingy.
- When Rodrick hands Greg the remote control for the pyrotechnics at Heather Hills' birthday party, he is wearing a sleeveless shirt. In the next shot, he is wearing an over-shirt which he takes off to reveal the sleeveless shirt.
- The hand on the spinner constantly changes places throughout the scene in which Greg and Rowley's family play a board game.
- When Rodrick is singing a song for Heather's Sweet 16, and Rodrick hits the ice sculpture, a lighting crew is seen on top of a table in the background.
- When the Cranium shaker moves upwards, we see some mountain scenery and movie studio buildings below, and not the usual boardwalk scenery where the movie should take place.
- The characters played by Joshua J. Ballard and Matt Mazur are swapped in the end credits; in fact, Ballard was Spag Union Tracking Device Boy, and Mazur was Spag Union Math Boy.
- When Frank Heffley checks his watch and says that he's late for work, he looks at his left arm, which doesn't have a watch on it. However, this was deliberate and not a mistake, as Frank needed an excuse to leave and so didn't bother to check the time properly.
- When Mr. Jefferson confronts Frank for Greg racking up charges on his country club account, it only was due to being billed $260 on smoothies. However, Rodrick orders large portions of food early on in the film and there was no question about it by Mr. Jefferson or Frank when reviewing the bill.
- Although the movie is set during the summer holidays, fall foliage is visible throughout the film.
- Greg's Xbox 360 is working in Dog Days, but in Rodrick Rules (film) his black Xbox 360 is broken by Manny. Either Susan or Frank bought him one after Rodrick Rules (film) and before Dog Days (2012 film). Otherwise, they could have put a warranty on the Xbox and got it replaced free of charge.
- Greg hacks Mr. Jefferson's computer and tries to send a message to his mom but accidentally sends it to everyone, while he's dragging the icon with the cursor, it says that he's sending 668 emails to everyone, but in the morning, Mr. Jefferson says he receives 949 emails.
- It's likely that more than one person responded twice to the message.
- When Greg is writing his message on the computer to his mom, he writes the word "Help" twice. This isn't an error, but it actually happened in the book.
- The receptionist of the Country Club says they don't employ minors, but Heather, who is 15 going to be 16, works as a lifeguard.
- At the end of the Spag Union promotional video, Greg’s right arm is missing. Probably his arm was stuck on a green screen.
Gallery[]
See Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012 film)/Gallery
Official Trailer[]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Dog Days - Official Trailer
Here is the trailer for Dog Days.